


you're like caffeine

by letfelicitysoar



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, KaiSoo - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-14
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 13:03:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3174442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letfelicitysoar/pseuds/letfelicitysoar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a ghost that haunts Jongin’s floor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you're like caffeine

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to my lovely emily ♡ happy kaisoo day

the new apartment isn’t anything special but jongin likes it, he likes the simplicity and the lack of cats and he really likes the ghost who haunts his floor.

kyungsoo is his name and he’s temperamental, but other than that, jongin gets an absolute kick from the transparent boy who floats around and spies on everyone when they least expect it, going about their daily musings. at first, it was alarming really, especially when jongin had confronted his neighbor joonmyun about it and the elder had simply shook his head and told jongin to get some rest. but jongin was definitely seeing someone a whole feet off the floor watching him with curious eyes as he did his laundry a few nights ago.

that was months ago, when jongin first moved in, a college freshman who kept finding his books misplaced and kitchen drawers ransacked. the culprit: kyungsoo.

"you know, it’d be better if you could clean up after yourself once in a while," jongin calls out for the seventh time that week, coming home to broken mugs and coffee grounds all over the floor.

he’s only greeted by silence, but that’s nothing new with kyungsoo, the ghost has hardly spoken three words to jongin since discovering he could even be heard or seen. jongin sighs, tossing his coat on the counter as he grabs some paper towels to mop up the mess. kyungsoo isn’t anywhere in sight, but that’s just something else jongin has grown use to, he’s discovered that even though kyungsoo likes watching people, he isn’t particular to being watched himself. he suits being a ghost.

"what were you even doing messing with the coffee?" jongin grumbles, mostly to the empty room but he figures kyungsoo is listening somewhere. he isn’t particularly irritated, but he doesn’t exactly enjoy cleaning up after messes he didn’t make.

the silence that is supposed to follow doesn’t come when jongin hears a soft apology behind him, kyungsoo’s voice is barely above a whisper. the whole thing surprises him to the point where his hand is cut by the broken shard of porcelain he was holding.

the pain doesn’t even register because jongin’s focus is on the soft gasp that comes from kyungsoo’s wispy image, his face is so close to jongin’s.

"you’re bleeding," states kyungsoo, his round eyes blinking up at jongin.

jongin takes a sharp breath in, more from the ethereal clarity of kyungsoo than the stinging coming from his hand. so kyungsoo repeats himself, this time looking down pointedly at the flow of red from the wound.

"i— oh, right," he says with a shake of his head and he takes a swift step back, turning away from kyungsoo and his too clear eyes. it’s weird, he thinks, that of all the ghostly, transparent things about kyungsoo, his eyes still hold the most human traits.

kyungsoo doesn’t follow (or at least jongin thinks, because he can’t be bother with turning to look at him again) him to the sink, his fingers shaking when he rinses the blood off, revealing a thin line extending across his palm and he winces when he sees just how deep it is. jongin bites his bottom lip when he bandages his hand up, eyes always casted down, focused on the task in front of him instead of the ghost lurking around somewhere behind him.

"will it get infected?" kyungsoo asks suddenly and jongin’s head swims a little at the sound.

"no," answers jongin, "it should be fine."

"you didn’t use any rubbing alcohol," he says and without looking, jongin can feels kyungsoo’s presence beside him, his head poking out from right behind jongin’s shoulder. "you should use some."

"i don’t have any," jongin mumbles.

if kyungsoo wants to say more, he doesn’t and so jongin quickly finishes up and goes back to cleaning the floor up, it’s the first time he’s ever felt so aware of kyungsoo and the swimming in his head hasn’t stopped yet either.

"i’m sorry," kyungsoo apologizes again, hands twisted by his side.

"it’s okay," jongin quickly says. he doesn’t know why but hearing kyungsoo apologize so much only makes the situation feel heavier, it makes him feel so nervous.

after he’s cleaned up, he realizes kyungsoo has left and jongin doesn’t even bother calling out to his empty apartment anymore, instead he curls up on the couch for the evening and tries to pry those eyes out his memory.

but the following day he returns home to find kyungsoo leaned over a mess of coffee grounds, an unbroken mug beside him this time and a look of distress splayed out on his face.

"what are—" he starts but pauses when he gets a better look at the scene, his heart sinking. "did you try to make coffee?"

kyungsoo frowns before silently leaving, vanishing into thin air, the image of his pouty lips still in jongin’s mind. jongin lets out a breathy chuckle before groaning at the mess  _he_  has to clean up once more.

the third day is just the same if anything more, a confused jongin returning home to find a dead boy trying to make a cup of coffee he can’t even taste anymore.

"you can’t even drink it," jongin says with a small smile on his lips, shaking his head in exasperation at kyungsoo scowling, but it only looks downright adorable to jongin. "or can you?"

kyungsoo doesn’t dignify that with an answer, only folds his arms in frustration and lets out a huff. jongin thinks he looks even more like a child. the ghost hovers across the room, but he doesn’t fully leave and so jongin takes this as a sign to follow after him, almost like a puppy if he thinks about it (so he doesn’t).

“do you miss it that much?” jongin asks and it’s the first time he’s ever asked about anything having to do with when kyungsoo was alive.

with his back faced to jongin, kyungsoo shakes his head before glancing downwards, his hands digging into the fabric of the gray shirt he’s always wearing.

jongin halts a few feet away. “then what have you been trying to accomplish these last few days?”

he’s met with that familiar ‘no response’ and after a minute of silence, he snorts in irritance and strides off to go clean up again, except  the soft lilt of kyungsoo’s voice holds him back with no force at all. “for you.”

“excuse me?” says jongin, a curious eyebrow raised.

“for you,” kyungsoo repeats and jongin thinks he can hear a hint of indifference in kyungsoo’s voice. “i wanted to make it for you.” when jongin doesn’t respond with anything else but his mouth hung wide open, kyungsoo’s frown grows deeper. “you seem very tired lately, i wanted to help.”

jongin doesn’t say anything about the stress of having to  _clean_  everyday, but he manages to get himself together enough to ask, “ _why?_ ”

“you’re the first person to notice me,” kyungsoo says, fidgeting on his feet and jongin wishes he could grab him by the shoulders and turn him to face him. “it’s weird being…  _seen_  after so many years of being ignored. i wanted to repay you somehow.”

the swimming starts up again in jongin’s head and he can’t believe what he’s hearing but then again he couldn’t believe kyungsoo’s entire existence either and yet here he is, talking to a ghost in the middle of his living room as if he were about to have tea with an old friend. there’s a long pause where jongin’s trying to wrack his brain for a reply while suppressing the worry that kyungsoo might get embarrassed and run off again.

“you’re ridiculous,” is the brilliant response his brain comes up with. “absolutely ridiculous.”

kyungsoo’s frown is thunderous when he turns to look at jongin and the other would cower except that would make him appear unmanly and he really holds onto that appeal. “i am not ridiculous.”

“yes, yes you are,” jongin grins, feeling swirls of delight pool in his stomach. maybe kyungsoo looks even cuter when he’s mad.

“this conversation is ridiculous,” kyungsoo says and then sputters in annoyance before vanishing, leaving jongin alone in his living room with a mess on the kitchen floor.

the very next day, jongin does in fact come home to find coffee grounds strewn about on the floor again, except now there’s a dying cup of coffee sitting on the counter, kyungsoo right beside it.

"you know, it’d be better if you could clean up after yourself once in a while," jongin says, his fist pressed against his lips to suppress the laugh he so desperately does not want to scare kyungsoo away with.

the latter rolls his eyes before directing them at the cup of lukewarm coffee, the movement smooth and jongin finds it a whole lot less nerve wracking to look at them for once.

the coffee tastes terrible, kyungsoo frowns, joonmyun still doesn’t believe him, and jongin has taken a liking to this apartment.


End file.
